Can I save my paint?

[White93z34]

Or at least make it look less bad?

 

Long and short of it the black paint on my z34 has seen better days over the cars 18 years. Its all original as far as I can tell. but it looks like it has a ton of tiny scratches all over it, it looks oxidized, and even when clean and waxed it looks dull and almost gray. I am affraid to hit the car with a buffer for fear of making things worse as I don't know what I'm doing with one.

 

Should I get someone to professionally buff it to as good as possible or is there something I can do (polishes, etc) to make it better? I understand where the paint is faded on my rear bumper there is not much I can do same with my spoiler the clear is coming off the ends of it.

[Euro]

I think it's savable, a professional detailer could most likely bring back the paint on the bumper and spoiler I'm sure. I'm the same way though about doing it yourself. I know my paint's probably equally bad(for different reasons) and black can be such a hard paint to make right...I don't want to mess things up.

[IRONDOG442]

yes it is savable!

[AL]

The drivers side of my Grand Am was completely faded and I had someone buff it and the results were incredible! It shines like no other now... Just find someone that is good with a buffer and have them do it

[mfewtrail]

As long as the clearcoat isn't gone or extremely thin, you can buff the paint and make it look pretty good again. There are products that can get you good results by hand as well, but it's a lot of work. Meguiars ColorX is one that can be used by hand with good results and it's easy to find at any auto parts store or almost any place that sells car detailing stuff.

[Garrett Powered]

3m perfect it III, 3m foam sponge hook and loop pad on a porter cable variable speed buffer.

 

just stay away from the edges. do those with just a microfiber by hand.

 

 

I just paint the top of the bumper. you can barely see the masking lines if you do it right.

[slick]

[video=youtube;EH3AECIX_tc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH3AECIX_tc

[Biohazed]

its savable I had a ton of scratches on mine and I got some Black color back wax from Pep Boys and the stuff works wonders

[Euro]

its savable I had a ton of scratches on mine and I got some Black color back wax from Pep Boys and the stuff works wonders

 

I've heard of that stuff, it's Turtle Wax isn't it? I haven't heard more than 1 or 2 reviews from people, but they seemed to be pleased.

[Biohazed]

yeah its Turtle Wax wasn't impressed with the Chip stick they include but the wax itself works awesome!

[digitaloutsider]

As long as the clearcoat isn't gone or extremely thin, you can buff the paint and make it look pretty good again. There are products that can get you good results by hand as well, but it's a lot of work. Meguiars ColorX is one that can be used by hand with good results and it's easy to find at any auto parts store or almost any place that sells car detailing stuff.

 

Yeah, this has been my opinion. The clearcoat on the hood appears to be showing the early signs of cracking and the clear on the spoiler is extremely damaged on the rear edges of it. I've been able to get some nice results from the roof/sides/back of the car, but I'm concerned about going too crazy on the hood. It might just be a bunch of deep scratches, but it looks like the clear is damaged.